Perfect Poise, Perfect Life
Bring your body into balance and revolutionise your life
By Noel Kingsley
Publisher Hodder Mobius
AVAILABLE HERE
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Alexander Technique and emotions
So where does your body stop and your emotions begin....or visa versa? If we were to discuss the mechanism of an arm, chest muscle or heart we could look at images, dissect and find the physical working components. If we were to discuss a fear or other emotion, there is nothing tangible to grasp or view, but the emotion can be just as real. Is it in the brain or a particular part of the body....or both?
In medical fields we have specialists in psychology, psychiatry, trauma, relationship counseling, and we have others who specialise in physiotherapy, fitness training, osteopathy, chiropractics. They tend to fall into the mental/emotional or physical categories. Having treatments in either form of approach however, can have an effect on the other. If we gain mental or emotional relief we can physically relax better, and also when we get physical release from tension, there can be an emotional release too. This is quite normal.
Indeed such knock-on effects can almost be expected, because the emotional and physical being is the same one. Emotional and the physical aspects of a person are inextricably linked up so it is most likely that treatment in one aspect cannot be done without an effect elsewhere.
So which comes first? Is it the emotional trauma that causes physical tension or is it the postural tensions that create emotional anxieties. Chicken or egg? The answer is probably, both. There are no rules with this and whatever the situation there are likely to be a number of factors playing a part, all combining to cause an overall condition. Within the 'overall' condition there may be one or two aspects that become more pronounced...like an iceberg where 7/8 is under the water, but which bits protrude above and make themselves visible? In people, it may be a physical pain, shallow breathing or headaches that draw attention or it may be general timidity, fear of social contact, anger or depression. But these are just tips of the iceberg. There is a whole lot more going on in our body that is related to the specific condition we notice.
We have fear reflexes that are stimiulated by our 'fight or flight' instincts. If we get startled or frightened there will be an accompanying physical reaction, such as stiffening our necks, shoulders and legs. If this happens frequently enough these reactions can become habitual and a personal characteristic of us.. Sadness and depression too will cause our posture to collapse and we slouch. Equally, if we pick up posture habits from parents or friends such as hunching, stooping or slouching, then these will affect our emotions. A tense neck, shoulders and a stoop will interfere with our breathing and also our level of confidence.
In Alexander Technique lessons, teachers work on the whole body to help eliminate harmful postural habits and revive natural poise. But when the client arrives for their session, it is usual that they have a specific ailment or reason for coming, be it neck tension, aching knees, general stiffness, or to reduce stress. If the client complains of aching knees, it is very unlikely that much of the session will be devoted to their knees, as this condition is only a small (albeit painful) symptom of an overall condition in their whole body. In almost every case we will work on their neck tension, head balance and overall posture as much as the specific area in question. This is because every part of us is actually not a separate bit, but an extension or part of the 'whole'. We are not a collection of parts. We only name them to help identification, but in reality the muscles, tendons and ligament of our posture all interconnect, overlay and are pretty much inseparable. And if we did manage to separate them.....and this is the main point......they would be completely useless without the support and integration with the whole.
Our body and mind works as a whole. Take any task you like and see if you can identify it as either entirely physical or mental. Is skiing a purely physical task, or horse riding, walking or writing a letter? Our musculature couldn't operate without the control and guidance of our brain which in turn fires the muscle spindles and circulates oxygenated blood. And is calculating an arithmetical problem a purely mental activity? We couldn't do that without sufficient blood pumped from our heart and loaded with fresh oxygen from our breathing lungs. All activities are both mental and physical; without either we die. Our emotions are just as inextricably connected to every cell in our body.
It is quite common during AT lessons when the client releases certain long-held tensions for them to feel an emotional release too. This may simply be a sensation of calmness, but can equally come out as laughter or tears. This can sometimes embarrass the client, and although understandable, when we think about it, a release of emotions as a consequence of our postural work, is really to be expected. Why not? We're all linked up.
It's understandable too for people to think that when I have my hands gently placed on their neck and I'm helping the release of tension, that this is all that's happening. Although I may be working on this area or another, we are also having an effect on their shoulders, back and even ankles. Not only that, we are also affecting their emotions and general state and well-being at the same time. Everything is linked up.
Emotions and feelings are very intangible and nebulous aspects of our beings. They are almost impossible to locate and it is possible to talk around them for years with specialists without necessarily getting to the root cause of the feelings. On a physical level too, it's possible that certain muscle tensions and held postural traits are very connected with a held attitude, demeanour or other emotional state. Sometimes physical release from tension won't come properly until the emotions release too. Psychiatrist may get their patient to talk around and about their issues and it may be a very long time for them to move on completely free of their condition without physical release to accompany and facilitate it. This is why the psychiatric sessions are usually conducted in comfy chairs or on a lounging sofa; it helps the patient relax.
But we have found in Alexander Technique, where we deal with the overall postural condition we have tangible aspects to do with body weight and balance in relation to gravity. We have more or less control over most muscular situations by means of our brain and we learn to release unwanted postural tensions in this way. It is a 'conscious' approach to improving posture. We all have an instinct for 'natural poise' from birth and this is what we tap into. The right thing will take care of itself if we remove the 'interference' of bad postural habits. It will all work beautifully well if we let it. By working on our posture, we have a practical means of tackling our situation, dealing with physical situations that are tangible. This we can do. As we release tensions, then emotions may surface and there are bound to be knock on effects to how we feel about ourselves and relate to others. In this way we can positively influence our confidence, calmness and general sense of well-being. I have heard on a number of occasions from the wife of a client saying that her husband is so much easier to live with since he started having Alexander Technique lessons!
